REFLECTIONS ON FAMILY REUNION

When the faithful congregate this Sunday, they won't find me in the pulpit... because I'm taking my first Sunday off this year. I'm going to be in Belle Plaine, Iowa... to attend our annual Shedenhelm family reunion. With the exception of uncle Duane and aunt Betty, my father's siblings have passed on, and uncle Duane is unlikely to attend the reunion. Still, I have cousins that I want to see and besides, I feel a genuine connection with these people and, for that matter, with all of those who comprise "my" family tree. If you had asked me "who I was" a few years ago, I would've said a Shedenhelm (Schuttenhelm in the old country) from Aach, Bavaria. My dad always said we were "Dutch German" and in some ways, he was right... but we are much more than that.

In the first place, most of my family can trace their roots back to England, although there is a strong contingency from Scotland and a few from Wales.  Secondly, there are many more last names in my ancestry that I could've imagined. I should have known this. I wasn't "just" a Shedenhelm in the first place. My mother is a Sylvester, but beyond that, my grandfather, Clarence Shedenhelm. was married to Myrene Simmons. His grandmother was Catherine Schall and my grandmother's mother was Mary Agnew. So, almost from the beginning, I was a Shedenhelm-Simmons-Schall-Sylvester-Agnew. Thirdly, although he would not have been impressed, dad would've been surprised to see that the "rich and famous" dot our family tree, including Robert the Bruce of Scotland, Louis VII of France, Charlemagne, Henry II of England, Anne Boleyn, and Sir Walter Raleigh. Fourthly, he would've been surprised to learn that we have so many ancestors who immigrated to America in colonial times. One of them arrived on the Mayflower, one of them co-founded Hartford, CT., one of them arrived in his own ship, many of them arrived as indentured servants, and most of them were in America by 1650. However, Friedrich Schuttenhelm, Nicholas Schall, John Beck, John  Liebenstein, and Georg Dotterer  came to American as part of the Palatinate migration. I suspect that dad, like me, would have an interest in learning more about the lives and times of our ancestors. What were their dreams? Their burdens? Their victories? Their defeats?

All of this is on my mind as I prepare to drive to Belle Plaine, but I do know that, as a Army pilot in WWII, my father would've been pleased with the number of heroes and warriors among our ancestors. As an example, John Agnew served America with the 7th Virginia Regiment in the REVOLUTIONARY War. Abraham Barnes also fought for our freedom in Virginia, although he served as a gunner with the 2nd Artillery Regiment, Continental Troops. Michael Blue served in the 2nd Battalion of the NJ Militia, and Samuel Simmons fought for freedom in Cook's Regiment of the Rhode Island Militia. More than a dozen Schalls fought for the Union in our CIVIL WAR, mostly in Pennsylvania units, while Thomas Shedenhelm served the Union in the 164th Ohio infantry and John W. Shedenhelm fought for the 24th Iowa infantry. Finally, although dad didn't know it, other Shedenhelms joined him in the War against Hitler, one of whom enlisted at the same facility in the very same week.

I have all sorts of family members. Some are famous-most aren't. Some were Quakers- many were Catholics. Some have been victims of injustice (one was executed as a witch in Salem)- others have been in law enforcement (the Agnews were hereditary sheriffs in Scotland for centuries). Some have been wealthy- most have not, and not a few have even been poor. They came to America for all sorts of reasons, and as a group, the Shedenhelms, Schalls, Slaymakers, and Rosenbergers moved first, from Frederick, MD to Seneca, OH., and then to Iowa County. The Shedenhelms were farmers. The Simmons family were business people. So, I don't know how a girl like Myrene Simmons even met Clarence Shedenhelm, who struggled to make a living off the land throughout his life, in the first place. But she did... and here I am... on the way to Belle Plaine, Iowa to break bread with my family.

I only see them once a year and I don't know much about their daily lives... but I sure do feel connected to them. If I could, I would gather them all together, from all of their times and places, in one big hall... and thank them... for their blood, sweat, and tears... for the efforts... and for doing the best they could.